Class Schedule

MAVA 203 - Intro to Drawing
MAVA 308 - Concept Development
MAVA 404 - Culture Heritage Management
SOCI 205   - Social Problems

TURK 201  - Intro to Turkish Language

Turkish Music

typical Turkish Pop music

Honest & Kind

Honest and Kind: The two best ways I can sum up Turkish culture as of yet. Everyone is so friendly and helpful. If you try to speak to them in Turkish, they will try to speak to you in English. It is a give in take that is built into the community. No one worries about being taken advantage of by people they don't know. For example, on the bus everyone just passes their money through the crowd knowing that it will arrive to the driver and their change will be returned without any problems. All of the service workers are some of the most attendant and generous I have ever encountered. Free dessert is a commonality at restaurants despite the fact that 10% is considered a high tip. In Sariyer some of the shops on the street just leave their doors wide open after closing like its no big deal. Another good example of Turkish hospitality is when we were lost in downtown Istanbul looking for the spice bazaar and asked a young local woman for directions she proceeded to lead us there as if we had our own personal tour guide. It was fabulous. I love the Turks.

The more I learn about Turkish culture, the more things I am noticing about my own American culture. 

The American crowd that I have been traveling with has for sure fit into the stereotype for which we are known: loud and oblivious. (Apparently they also assume that EVERY American is wealthy). It is making me more conscious of how respectful I must be to my elders and the public space. I can't lie, I have been hushed on the Dolmus more than once.

Snow Day

First unplanned day in Turkey and it snowed so I slept in until 2:30 and took care of some business. Nothing much else to report except that this was my first real snow of the season!

Eurasian Scavenger Hunt

Saturday we were assigned groups for a CIEE scavenger hunt that was taking place all across the city of Istanbul. Each group had a different region and we were spending the most time in Sultanahmet where the Grand Bazaar and Blue Mosque are located (it's a tourist hot spot). Our traveling for the day involved FIVE different types of public transportation. As usual our day started by taking the Dolmus from Koc to Sariyer and from there we hopped on the City Bus from Sariyer to Taskim  where we found an Underground Metro which took us from Taskim to a via point where we took photos with one of the city's countless statues of Ataturk (basically the guy who founded Turkey). After finishing up in the park there and getting a bit lost due to getting distracted by the numerous shops that were surprisingly affordable (I snagged a couple souvenirs) we made our way to our third type of public transport, the above ground Tram. We rode that a couple of stops down the road until we saw the Blue Mosque and took an outdoor tour because we were not allowed inside during one of the prayer hours. It was the size of a fortress, moat included.

...and also a photo shoot with one of the squirrels in a public park. 

 

From there we walked to the Spice Bazaar and bought some fresh Turkish Coffee. Next door there was another Mosque and seeing as the prayer hour had passed, we took advantage and peeked inside. We removed our shoes and borrowed head scarves before entering. The walls were tiled from floor to ceiling and the lighting added a spiritual element that made the prayer room feel even more spectacular than it already was. 

Our final stop was dinner was on the Asian side of Istanbul (that I have never been to before) that required taking a twenty minute ferry ride across the Bosphorus. The ferry ride over was packed and there were a couple groups of salesmen (I guess you could call them) that were playing the recorder and asking for tips and another man did a demonstration of a lemon juicer that only cost 1TL so I had to buy one. After walking the streets of Asia for a while and asking directions multiple times, we found the restaurant and were the first team to arrive! Winners! All of the food was obviously foreign to me but what took me by surprise was the fact that when trying to identify the flavors I could hardly pin any of them down. The hummus was some of the best I ever had. After dinner came a glass of traditional tea and sugar cubes. 

Cat Infestation

Public Park.

Campus Dining Hall. 

Address

If anyone wants to send me a letter or package ;)
(use FedEx or DHL exclusively)

Night in Sariyer

After spending the afternoon with all 40 CIEE members in Sariyer for Turkish coffee, a few of us decided to go back to Sariyer later that night to explore and eat dinner in a local place. It was our first time venturing out of campus by ourselves without any help from our mentors. Turns out the public bus transportation system is ridiculously easy and frequent. After arriving to town we wandered the streets, strolled along the Bosphorus, window shopped, and finally stumbled upon a location that suited our desire for something local. There was a little sign pointing into an alley for a cafe which we followed up a few flights of stairs and through a doorway that looked like it could have been the entrance to a home but when we went inside there was Turkish pop music playing and a host ushering us to our seats. The waiters are surprising attendant and helpful. We were all trying our best to use the few words of Turkish we have learned so far but it mostly resulted in us laughing, pointing, and gesturing to express what we wanted to order. We all felt like such noobs whipping out our Turkish phrasebooks and dictionaries trying to translate the menu. After multiple failed attempts we just crossed our fingers and hoped for the best. Which turned out to be great because even though none of meals were what we expected they were delicious to the last bite.

After we finished eating we were checking out the view from the window adjacent to our table and noticed a Kebab Salon and upon further inspection I identified two students I recognized eating inside the salon so we quickly paid our bill and swung over there to say hello. It felt like we already belonged to the town. The experience definitely boosted my confidence in making my way through Istanbul. Afterwards we walked up to a pub to try the national drink Raki which tastes like black licorice and turns from clear to white when mixed with water (which is how the drink is customarily served).

Photo Tour

My supplies. (Cool cell phone huh?)

View of the student center walking from the dorms

The Bosphorus and Sariyer from the restaurant where we tried Turkish coffee. 

All 40 members of the CIEE group seated at one table

ISTANBUL

I HAVE ARRIVED! It took me a while to figure out the WiFi situation but now all of the kinks are worked out and I am good to go for the rest of the semester. After my plane landed (10 hour flight) I met up with 7 other girls in my program at the Starbucks just outside of customs. We were all exhausted from dragging our mounds of luggage all over the place and being trapped in those uncomfortable Turkish Airline seats for so long. It probably was the smallest and hardest seat I have ever been assigned; my butt literally was sore for the rest of the night. From the airport we all piled into a Dolmus (minibus) and took a one hour ride to Koc Campus for a mini tour and dinner date with our mentors. Koc is beautiful! It is secluded in a forest about 20 minutes out of the closest town, Sariyer. All of the buildings on campus are HUGE because all of the ceilings are so high and all of the rooms are so expansive. There are a ton of places to eat on campus (even more than there are at UNCW which is odd seeing as UNCW has 11,000 more students). The food is cheap, electronics are expensive. The tap water is not potable but bottles only cost .50TL (Turkish Lira). The Bosphorus is only 5 minutes away from campus and is full of barges and yachts. So far everyone in my program and working at the school have been so very kind and helpful, I have no complaints. Everywhere I look there is something even more amazing than the next. Turkish flags fly loud and proud around every corner. Now... the language is quite difficult. They have 3 more vowels than the English language and all of them are only sligghhtlyy different. It's a lot of throat inflection. And vowels are every other letter so your tongue has to move so quickly in order to pronounce the words properly.

My room is also HUGE. It is at least twice the size of my freshman dorm room at UNCW. They provided me with a pillow, blanket, desk, dresser, lamp, bed, mini fridge, and nightstand. The bathroom is very clean and is located right outside my door; I share it with my room mate and 4 other rooms on my hall. We have an entire wall of windows that overlooks the patch of woods in between all the dorm buildings. It is like Narnia with tall trees and lamp posts and a stone path through the middle of it. I still can't grasp the fact that this is my home for the next 4 1/2 months.

Also, there is a bonus to Turkey that I did not expect. They have so many wild cats and dogs (just like any other city) but all of the animals are relatively clean and exceptionally friendly. According to some of my fellow students the government has a special program where they catch all of the street animals and spay and neuter them and then release them back onto the streets, also I heard something about there being another government program that helps to feed them. On campus the animals will wait by the doors for someone to let them inside and come right up to you and hop on your lap wanting to be petted. A dream come true for a crazy cat lady like me.

That's all for now folks!

1/22/13

Today is here. The date I have been waiting for. The looming endeavor is finally right in front of me. There is no turning back now. After repacking my suitcases multiple times and leaving behind half of what I wanted to bring, everything is ready and waiting by the door. My flight leaves tonight at 11:30 but I will be leaving my house in about one hour for the airport. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

One day left

I'm sitting here with Melanie in my room surrounded by piles and piles of different things. We just finished our last supper, my mom made my favorite foods for dinner. Steak, potatoes, and sauteed mushrooms. I went today to get a bunch of photos printed of my friends and family so that I can keep them with me while I am away. We also picked up a new fancy duffle bag that clips to the handles of my rolling suitcase. Also, I've been practicing telling time on my new manual watch that my lovely mother purchased for me seeing as I won't be able to rely on my Iphone for time anymore. Resorting back to the good ole flip phone days. Whelp,  back to packing I must go!

Ham Sandwich

My mother says I need to explain the name of my blog.
I chose ham because it's not turkey.
However, I always thought ham and turkey went well together. 

(Plus, everybody loves a good sandwich.)

"Turkey Talk" and "Turkeytopia" were close runner ups though.

Some people...

Some people think the whole world is about them. Broaden your horizons, the world is too big.

Koç University

(It's pronounced "coach")

Introduction video from the University's site:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_tlbMIPs23Y

Koç is located right on the corner of the Bosphorus and Black Sea, less than one hour away from the city center

Pinterest Page

Here's a link to my pinterest page that I made about all the things I want to see and do while abroad!
http://pinterest.com/stephanie_alyse/turkey/
and here is a selection of some images from the site...

Hagia Sophia: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Cappadocia: Ballooning over the Valley of Fairy Chimneys

Pamukkale: Hot Springs 

Pre-Departure

Two day count down until my plane takes off from Dulles International in Washington DC headed towards Ataturk International in Istanbul, Turkey. I've got my passport, my visa, plenty of miniature sized toiletries, and sheets for my twin dorm room bed. All that's left is to put everything into one giant suitcase and say my goodbyes!